Interface Builder needs to have a concept of "placeholder text"

Originator:robotspacer
Number:rdar://21005856 Date Originated:18-May-2015 05:15 PM
Status:Open Resolved:
Product:iOS SDK Product Version:iOS 8.3
Classification:Enhancement Reproducible:N/A
 
Summary:
Any Interface Builder object that displays text (such as a UILabel or WKInterfaceLabel) should have a "placeholder text" or "don't display at runtime" checkbox. This would allow you to enter text that is only ever displayed in Interface Builder —it's not included in the xib that gets built, and thus can never appear in the final app.

This is particularly important for WatchKit apps—I've seen a lot of placeholder text showing in various apps that was clearly never meant to be seen. It would also be useful for iOS and even Mac apps though—there's no reason for placeholder text to be a part of the built app.

Steps to Reproduce:
1. Create a WatchKit app
2. Enter some placeholder text with Interface Builder so you can see what your design will look like
3. Update that text when the app is actually run

Expected Results:
The placeholder text should never be seen

Actual Results:
With a WatchKit app in particular, it is very difficult to ensure that text is never seen. Since text is sent from the iPhone to the Watch there's always a chance this will take longer than expected. If you need to do some work that may take an indeterminate amount of time before you display text, you're also wasting power to empty out the text fields just to be sure your placeholder text doesn't flash. I have also seen cases where the app on the Watch is out of sync with the extension on the phone, so not all labels are updated correctly—so again the placeholder text is visible.

Whatever the cause, the end result is that Interface Builder is difficult to use as a design tool because you can't actually keep any placeholder text in your files.

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